Blood Iron Surplus - Anyone?

[DU99]

my iron levels are fine.single gene does not affect me.i am normally about 14..

 

[ultravista]

my iron levels are fine.single gene does not affect me.i am normally about 14..

Your blood iron is 14 mcg/dL? The range should be 50-180 mcg/dL.

 

[DU99]

Haemoglobin..

 

[westo2]

+1 on Hemachromatosis. Runs in my family and I have both genes. Easiest malady ever to treat. I do the dbl red a few times a year and keep an eye on the blood levels. To determine fully - it requires a genetic test.

How was your energy level after the double red? I'm told most people tend to have low energy afterwards, I'm the opposite. The most energized I am is in the days after a good old fashioned blood letting.

According to my doctor, limiting vitamin c also can reduce the uptake of iron. No mention of drinking or other dietary restrictions.

 

[Cyclman]

I would never do anything major from a single blood test, I have had blood tests change dramatically. I would go for a 2nd opinion if you are concerned. Or just wait 6 months...

 

[ultravista]

westo2 - if you don't mind me asking, what was your iron level (e.g., xxx mcg/dL) before starting blood donations?

I felt OK afterwards, no issues that I can link back to the blood draw.

My hemoglobin was 17.8 for the donation test. That's a bit high.

 

[westo2]

I got tested for it in my teens, so I've been donating since then.

I just had my annual physical last month, and have been lax about donating - so my iron was up - 250 μg/dl. But my ferritin is low, as is my MCV, which I'm told means that while my Iron is high, my iron stores are not yet increasing and I just need to go donate.

It is certainly something to follow up on - I don't know how old you are, but if it's been an unknown problem for much of your adult life you may have excess iron stores which can cause issues with your liver and kidneys. My uncle was diagnosed when he was about 50 - his iron stores were at the point that he ended up having to do near weekly phlebotomies for a few months to get his iron levels down. He got his levels down soon enough that there's little chance of long term damage, but could have caused him issues pretty quickly.

Edit - the above is if you do actually have hemochromotosis - talk to your doctor and see if they fell you should have the genetic screening done to determine if you have it. - especially if it is known to run in your family.

 

[Homercidal]

I was going to suggest the hemowhatever. My FIL has/had it or something like it. They attributed it to his time in Vietnam I think.

At any rate, I high good level of iron and when I donate blood they always try to get me to do double reds, but the needle always seems to pop out when they are pushing back, so I've had some nasty swollen arms with huge bruises.

 

[ultravista]

westo2 - I am 45, my iron level was 240 mcg/dL.

When donated blood, 1) did you do whole blood or double red cell, and 2) how much did your iron level decrease in mcg/dL per session?

I am trying to figure out how many times to donate to get it down to 50-60 mcg/dL.

 

[westo2]

westo2 - I am 45, my iron level was 240 mcg/dL.

When donated blood, 1) did you do whole blood or double red cell, and 2) how much did your iron level decrease in mcg/dL per session?

I am trying to figure out how many times to donate to get it down to 50-60 mcg/dL.

I'm a lowly geologist and certainly nowhere near accredited to be giving out medical advice - so again, talk to your doctor and take what I write with a healthy dose of skepticism. Need me to perform a coastal erosion and transport assessment for you? I'm your guy.....

That said - to answer your questions - I generally do the double red - gets rid of twice the red blood cells, but also has twice the return interval. I only get my blood checked at my annual physical, so I've never checked to see how much various levels change before/after donation.

According to both my doctor, and my mother (a nurse practitioner who has specialized in these sorts of things) - and I may be getting this slightly wrong - the iron level is an instantaneous measure of iron in your blood, not necessarily a measure of iron stores. It is an indicator that you have excess iron in your body, and is the easiest value to adjust through blood donation. The MCV and ferritin levels (and perhaps hematocrit factors in there somewhere?) give a clearer picture as to what your body is doing with the excess FE. Both the doctor and my mother said that my elevated iron was no big deal, as long as I paid the red cross a visit in short order and my other levels were in the normal range. I will say - your post was the reminder I needed to get into the Red Cross and get my donation done.

That said - this really should be a conversation with your doctor, not some random guy on the internet. Hemochromotosis certainly can be very serious when it goes untreated and undiagnosed and years of excess iron can cause organ failure and death. Properly treated however, it is easier to manage than the common cold.

As to your father saying it doesn't run in that side of the family - hemochromotosis is a recessive gene, which, according the little bit of 10th grade bio I recall, means you need a a copy from both sets of parents to have, but each parent could have one copy of the allele and have no indication. So - not knowing if you have it or if it runs in the family doesn't indicate that it isn't there. I've been told that it goes undiagnosed even in those with both alleles quite often as well.

One final thing that pops into my head anytime I start dealing with medical stuff - a buddy of mine was finishing up med school about the same time I was completing my masters work. Over beers one night, I asked him what the most eye opening thing that he learned or realized in med school was. His response? The amazing fact that any of us are alive. A billion things have to go exactly right for your body to function correctly. One of those screws up, and the whole thing comes down. I try to keep that in mind when life gets serious.

Good luck, and keep talking to the doctor.

 

[wyobrewer1]

I'm in the same boat here. Had my yearly blood draw that happened to include iron studies. Everything indicates hemochromatosis, but these tests are not always accurate. I'm headed in tomorrow to have a ferritin level drawn. This is a better indicator of iron stores so hopefully i will have more info after that.

If it turns out that this is in fact the case, I'm hoping I can find out for sure what to limit my alcohol intake too.